1850s to 1880s
Sir Joseph Bazalgette (1819 - 1891) oversaw the reclamation of land on both sides of the Thames as it flows through London, to provide for covered tunnels to house two great intercepting sewers and an underground tube line. The finished system consisted of 1,300 miles of sewers and 82 miles of the west-east intercepting sewers, and included Abbey Mills pumping station at Stratford, Western pumping station at Pimlico, Deptford Pumping Station, Crossness Pumping Station, and the Southern Outfall Sewer. The Thames Embankments are built on top of this reclamation.